At least 47 SPLA-IO soldiers loyal to Regina Joseph, one of the acting chairpersons of the SPLM/A-IO, were reportedly captured by a rival group led by Oyet Nathaniel in Adok payam in Unity State’s Leer County last week.
The arrest followed the eruption of intermittent clashes between the rival groups last month.
Gen. James Yoach Bading, the Leer County SPLA-IO military commissioner allied to Oyet, told Radio Tamazuj that the forces loyal to Regina provoked his forces.
“On 31 October, our riverine forces were ambushed along the River Nile by the renegades of Regina, and we scattered them. Then, three days ago, they regrouped and attacked our patrol again in a swampy area of Leer,” he explained. “Our forces fought and pursued them until we captured 47 of them, including senior officers. They are being held at our military intelligence facility, and some are detained by our police criminal investigations department.”
Asked about the welfare of the captives after a picture showing them held in a shipping container, Gen. Yoach said the picture was taken when the captives had just arrived.
“We are treating them very well, and their families are even allowed to visit them and bring them food and other items. They are even in contact with their families,” he said. “After military procedures and discipline, we will release them because these are our comrades. We even handed over some of the wounded to the Red Cross. We even allow the wounded to receive treatment in medical facilities.”
“We are one SPLA-IO, and we believe this confusion will end soon; they were the ones who instigated the fighting,” Gen. Yoach added.
Meanwhile, Dhoal Koryom Lingling, the rival SPLM/A-IO military governor loyal to Regina Joseph, acknowledged to this publication that their forces were captured in battle by Oyet’s group.
“Indeed, after fighting, there were arrests of some of our officers who were captured by a brigadier who came from the side of Jonglei State and attacked our forces on 31 October,” he said. “Our forces fought and were repulsed and went towards Adok. Then on 4 November, when our forces were trying to leave that location, some of them were captured.”
“However, up to now I have not received any official communication confirming how many of our officers were captured alive by Nathaniel Oyet’s group,” Koryom added.
The fighting between the rival SPLA-IO groups has left 44 soldiers dead since it started in October.
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